GOLDEN STATE OPPORTUNITY

The Golden State Opportunity Foundation believes that California’s future is dependent on ALL of its citizens having real opportunity to succeed economically.

The Foundation will work to improve the lives of lower and middle income Californians through a program of research, analysis, public information and education. The Foundation will lead, participate in and support comprehensive efforts related to economic opportunity such as job creation, community development, and distribution of benefits. Understanding that change isn’t easy and doesn’t happen overnight, the Foundation will put “patient capital” into medium and long-term efforts to transform communities.

Project of Golden State Opportunity

CALEITC4ME

CALEITC4ME is an unprecedented statewide outreach campaign to encourage lower income Californians to claim the newly passed state earned income tax credit as well as the federal credit. In addition to a targeted outreach effort designed to reach previous and new taxpayers through trusted community partners, CALEITC4ME is embarking on an effort to increase the awareness about and availability of free tax preparation and is developing public/private partnerships to minimize unscrupulous practices that result in low income individuals and families losing too much of their precious earnings to paid tax preparers and high-fee check cashing agencies.

CALEITC4ME will employ state of the art data collection and analysis, first to reach the target audience most effectively, second, to evaluate our success in order to improve future efforts in California and other states and third, to determine how to best provide additional services.

We should not leave to luck and chance the kinds of opportunities in life that people get to enjoy. I’m determined to build programs that systematically create more opportunity for people so they do not have to rely on luck and chance to have a full life.